Derek Karlavaegen (unofficial)
Background TSL universe He has a huge distrust of authority.Attempts were made to traverse the mountain and investigate the wizard’s old home—which has, supposedly, a new resident, a researcher of sorts—but the dangerous path was too treacherous to climb with any guarantee of safety. IA universe Mordack travelled to Manannan's House a few months after KQ3 to rescue his brother. He took the time to burn down his brother's house. This insured that in the IA universe, Derek would never have moved into Manannan's House. However, technically by that time Derek would had already have moved into the house. He had found no sign of the cat Manannan, any person or any animals. Thus if Manannan had returned to find Manannan or alternatively brought Manannan back with him to the house while he destroyed it. Chances are he would have found Derek inside giving him the chance to take revenge on Derek for squatting in his house, perhaps going as far as burning the scholar alive within the house with no chance of escape. Revenge of the Black Cloak Society In Revenge of the Black Cloak Society timeline, Derek did have Manannan's house as a residence, but work as Royal Historian of Daventry. At the start of the story, misfortune befalls Derek, and due to injury, he is forced to return to Llewdor to recover, with Cedric the owl. Towards the end of the events in Kolyma, Derek is soon able to return to his job as Royal Historian. Before he can, Shadrack successfully restores Manannan, and then kills Derek. This is after both Cedric and Derek learn that Shadrack has changed his appearance, and before either can share the information. Behind the scenes Derek Karlavaegen appears in TSL's The Four Winds but almost all details concerning him are in contradiction of official lore in both the Guidebook of the Land of the Green Isles and the material in the The King's Quest Companion. Derek Karlavaegen is very much different characterization compared to his appearances in Guidebook and King's Quest Companion. In the companion he was a friend of Alexander, and the rest of the Royal Family. In fact he was the commissioned to write Alexander's chronicle of the events of KQ6. This included a section discussing Shadrack, and his plans for the kingdom. He was also the one who gave Alexander a copy of the Guidebook that proved useful during his time on the Isle of the Sacred Mountain. Derek was also the one who interviewed Alexander-Gwydion shortly after his return to Daventry after defeating Manannan, so their friendship was long. Derek in both of those texts knew that Alexander was a very honest and trustworthy individual, who had suffered a tragic childhood under the evil wizard. He is such a trusted friend of the family, that he is given his own quarters within the castle itself (perhaps in or near the Castle's own archives) so that he can research whatever he needs to finish his writing (this included copies of the correspondence letters between Shadrack and Abdul Alhazred, as he included them in the court chronicle). He was also very much an honored guest at the wedding. In The Four Winds, Derek appears to hardly know Alexander. Doesn't seem to like him, seemingly to considering him a tyrant of a leader, and untrustworthy... He is said to have a huge distrust for authority (which is clearly against his personality in the official sources). Derek himself does some fairly questionable things (such as having nothing against lying or bending the truth, breaking and entering, if it leads to answers), he appears to be a bit of a thief, a treasure collector, a con artist, a rogue, etc. Stealing artifacts to sell to others for profits... whereas profits never seemed to be his motive in the Guidebook or the Companion (though he does mention making a few bits of gold or coin selling selling his articles and journals). He is told about Alhazred's letters during an interview with the king, but is denied access to them, told they hold state secrets (he had never heard about the letters previously). His distrust for Alexander leads him to break into the Castle of the Crown and steal the Black Cloak correspondence documents, as he was curious what was written in them (again in this backstory he had never seen them before). Upon reading them, he learns about Shadrack for the first time, and notes that he has never heard about him before. In this backstory, Alexander was never interviewed by Derek concerning his life under Manannan and his escape, nor was he at the wedding to write the court chronicles concerning the events of KQ6. Likewise, everyone including Alexander seems to have distrust for Derek Karlavaegen. As if they never knew him previously, and show great suspicion for his actions. Derek has only recently come back to Green Isles to witness Abdul Alhazred's trial, hired by Four Winds, and also to interview the former vizier. It appears it was last time he was in the Green Isles was when he wrote the Guidebook. No one appears to trust him, and consider his interview with the wizard to be suspicious... These are not the actions of people who view Derek as a close family friend of long standing... While the Eye Between the Worlds is referenced, some of the background details of when and how it was discovered are off. In the Companion its suggested it occured shortly, within months following KQ4, but before KQ5. In the companion, the house was abandoned, and he simply moved in (he encountered no people nor animals). He traveled there to explore it a few months after his interview with Alexander (this gave the explorer time to write up his articles on the Eye, and also travel to Serenia, and Mordack's Island, and Green Isles for the wedding). As seen in the KQ6 novelization (in relation to other articles by the scholar), it is shown that Derek had been living in Llewdor in Manannan's house for about three years. The Four Winds appears to imply that he 'bought' the mansion perhaps after KQ7 or even KQ8, years after Alexander moved out. Only months or mere weeks leading up to the events of The Silver Lining (and thus his studies of magic were quite recent). Where he discovers the eye is different as well. In the Companion the eye was discovered on the bookshelves in the study, and you can actually see it in game, if you look closely. In TFW, it claims it was discovered buried under the trapdoor below the study. Some of the descriptions of how the Eye functions are somewhat different than they were described in the Companion (example, allowing for two way communication between both worlds, instead of one way, as it was mentioned in the Companion). In the Companion, Derek is able to read the numbers, letters, and symbols on each key, which are in the Common tongue. What he wrote would make common words appear on the 'screen'. This is why he is so easily able to convert the files over to the Other World. Whereas in TSL's idea, that they were covered with symbols he had never seen before, and could not understand. In the Companion he knows it is a machine (the infamous 'technology' of metal and glass), possibly even an automaton, if you will... Where as in The Four Winds, he sees it as a shriveled Voodoo head, with dried hardened skin... This also leads to Derek to appear much younger than he was described in the Companion, and even the Guidebooks (appearing to be in his twenties or younger), and appears younger than the Ferryman, Hassan (who was young child when Derek came to the islands according to KQ6Guidebook: "The ferryman is a jolly fellow, patient even with the youngest of his passengers. His young son helps manage the vessel and helps keep her shipshape.", pgFerryman (KQ6 Amiga): "The island's currents keep us pretty isolated. I can only recall three visitors in my lifetime. When I was a boy a wanderer came, Alhazred himself arrived many years ago, and now you. We have almost no contact with the outside world, but we're content with our little kingdom. At least, we always were in the past."). He looks younger than Alexander even. Although both in guidebook and in the Companion, he makes note that he is 'old' some twenty years before KQ6 when the Guidebook was written. In fact in the Guidebook goes as far to describe him as old at the time he first ended up on the islands, and KQC states that his shipwreck had washed away the last vestiges of his youth. So if he was already old at the time he wrote the Guidebook, was older than Hassan (who is already old in KQ6, and much older than Alexander in the game), two decades later he would have been old indeed. Although no specific age for Derek is given at the time the Guidebook was written. There are clues that can be used to figure it out. He describes himself as a 'sour old dog', which suggests he was already at least middle age (or at least experienced in life). In the Companion, he described himself as youth nearly two decades before KQ6 (suggesting not more than 20 years had passed) with little need for a razor when he began exploring the world. One year during this journey, he ended up in the Green Isles. He mentions the last of his 'youth' was washed from him in the shipwreck, suggesting his ordeals had aged him. Though its not clear how long he spent traveling the world up to the time he crashed (it had to be at least one year after the start of his journey). It would support him being middle aged when he wrote the Guidebook. Comparatively speaking Derek began his journey approximately six years after King's Quest 1 (Companion timeline). Graham was around 25 years old at that time (Derek was likely a bit older). He was probably less than 40, but would have had to reach the islands anywhere between 30-40 years old (assuming 40 is middle-agedhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/middle+age). At the time of KQ6, two decades later, he would have been around 50 to 60 years. At that time, Graham was already old at 45 years (technically middle-aged) since before his 42nd birthday (KQ4)Narrator (KQ4):""). Likewise as this is associated with Derek, Hassan would have most likely be in his late twenties to forties in KQ6, as he was just a boy when Derek met him (keep in mind that KQ6 indicates that the ferryman is old, though probably younger than he appears.Narrator (KQ6):"The old sea salt is a little crusty around the edges.", "The ferryman is a disgruntled-looking man who is probably younger than he appears."), but certainly older than the young Alexander.KQC3E: "I'll tell you another thing, young fellow...,", "Say, young fellar..."", pg 249 Hassan is about twice Cassima's age (15-16 in KQ6), as he was already an adult when Alhazred came to the islands, and she was already new born. This would indicate that Derek Karlavaegen is probably about twice as old as Hassan. While Alexander made a trip to specifically meet Derek in Llewdor at his former home, in The Four Winds, Alexander never returned to Llewdor again. Derek Karlavaegen is not a citizen of the Land of the Green Isles, how can be tried for 'treason' to the state? There was another indirect reference to Alexander visiting Derek in Llewdor shortly before KQ6, but that was edited out (replaced with the conflicting idea that Derek moved to Llewdor long after KQ6).But it seems his full story was not well known amongst the villagers of Bruce, despite a brief trip the King is said to have made there before his first journey to the Green Isles. None of the villagers were entirely surprised at hearing these rumors about the wizard and his demise, however. In the Four Winds it also states that Derek Karlavaegen recorded the events of KQ4 for the Daventry Archiveshttp://www.tsl-game.com/fourwinds/?p=1194, this is actually a contradiction to the King's Quest Companion, in which that archive was actually written by Queen Valanice. References Category:Characters (TFW) Category:Fan fiction: Revenge of the Black Cloak Society